Gruen's Big Ten Glance: Badgers Should Name Greg Gard Permanent Coach

By Seth Gruen--

(CBS) There's nothing particularly charismatic about Wisconsin interim coach Greg Gard. If he has a sense of humor, it rarely comes out — unlike his predecessor, Bo Ryan, whose press conferences were earmarked by sets of dry jokes.

I've had limited interaction with Gard and, though he was accommodating of media requests as an assistant, he has a generally uninteresting personality.

Yet, that's precisely why Wisconsin should remove the interim tag and retain Gard as its basketball coach. Because there has never been anything particularly interesting about the Badgers' basketball program either, which, aside from its consistency, goes largely unnoticed until March.

I'm not one to accept the narrative of loyalty. Gard was certainly loyal to Ryan, and this is his 15th season as a member of the Badgers' coaching staff, but he's also simply a good coach. That's all that should matter to Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez in his search.

After Ryan's retirement in mid-December, Gard took over a Badgers program that was 7-5 and looked to be in danger of missing its first NCAA Tournament since 1998. Wisconsin has now won five straight games, sparked by a 77-76 win over then-No. 4 Michigan State on Jan. 17, and improved to 14-9.

Hiring Gard wouldn't be particularly sexy, but does Wisconsin really need that?

The program has had success going after lesser-known recruits. Sam Dekker was the exception, but he was an in-state kid with a natural interest in the program.

The swing offense isn't going to sell tickets. In fact, it's designed to ensure more balanced scoring. Yes, Frank Kaminsky averaged 18.8 points per game in 2014-'15, winning the Wooden Award, but he only took 12.5 shots per game — hardly the attempts one might think for the country's best player.

Concerned about Gard recruiting the nation's top talent? Or at least the top talent in the Chicagoland area, which has proved crucial in Wisconsin's success?

Gard's most adept move may have been his most unpublicized. He hired former UIC coach Howard Moore as an assistant — his second stint with the Badgers, his alma mater.

Moore failed to reinvigorate a dying — dead? — UIC program but was successful recruiting Chicago-area talent to Wisconsin in his first stint on the staff. Moore, who played at Taft High School, recruited helped recruit Kaminsky and Ben Brust (a senior on the 2014 Final Four team). His relationships with Chicago-area high school and AAU coaches are strong. That's part of being a good head coach too, surrounding yourself with capable assistants.

Maybe Gard isn't the kind of guy you would invite to a party, but Wisconsin has never been the type of program.

Big Ten power rankings

1. Iowa (18-4, 9-1) -- Surprising but definitely deserving.

2. Maryland (20-3, 9-2) -- The country's best starting five?

3. Michigan State (19-4, 6-4) -- I expect to see them in the Final Four.

4. Indiana (19-4, 9-1) -- Tom Crean's job appears safe.

5. Purdue (19-4, 7-3) -- It's a big game at Maryland on Saturday.

6. Michigan (17-6, 7-3) -- The Spartans still have Michigan State, Purdue, Maryland and Iowa on their schedule.

7. Wisconsin (14-9, 6-4) -- The Badgers look like a tournament team now.

8. Ohio State (14-10, 6-5) -- The Buckeyes beat Kentucky but could use a good conference win.

9. Nebraska (12-11, 4-6) -- The Huskers are a real disappointment.

10. Northwestern (16-8, 4-7) -- It was looked promising.

11. Illinois (11-12, 3-7) -- The Illini needed three overtime sessions to beat Rutgers, which is winless in the Big Ten season.

12. Penn State (11-12, 2-8) -- When was the last time this program was good?

13. Minnesota (6-17, 0-11) -- The Gophers are winless in conference, and it's ugly.

14. Rutgers (6-17, 0-10) -- The Scarlet Knights are counting moral victories now.

Seth Gruen is columnist for CBSChicago.com, focusing on college sports. You can follow him on Twitter @SethGruen.